Searle Brothers v. Searle

588 P.2d 689 (Utah 1978)

Yeazell, pp. 818-822

 

Facts: Edlean sued Woodey for divorce and was awarded Slaugh House.  Her sons later sued her for one half of the house.

 

Issue: Should the Searle Brothers be bound by the final judgment of the divorce case as a matter of either issue preclusion or claim preclusion?

 

Rule: Just because you could have been a party to a prior action but failed to get involved doesn’t bar you from litigating your own claim.

 

Analysis: Whaaaaa!  This one’s boring.  They seem to be talking about both claim preclusion and issue preclusion all mixed together.

 

Conclusion: The court reverses the decision of the trial court and remands for a trial.

 

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